Bob Brooks, founder of Hooters, dies at 69

General Business Discussions

Here was a guy who really seemed to enjoy what he did. Are there Hooters Restaurants near you? What do you think of them?

Bob Brooks, founder of Hooters, dies at 69 - Brooks founded Naturally Fresh, which makes and distributes sauces and dressings, in 1966 and bought Hooters in the mid 1980s, when it was only one store, and grew it into a multinational company with close to $1 billion in revenues, McNeil said. Hooters, the casual, beach-themed food chain known more for its waitresses clad in orange hot pants and tight tank tops than for its chicken wings, has 435 locations in 46 states and 19 countries. In 2003, Hooters launched a low-fare airline, Hooters Air. At its peak the airline served 15 cities, but the carrier was grounded earlier this year, according to the company's Web site.